Discovery of the New World

Medieval Norwegians had an unusual penchant for exploration. Most medieval communities were composed of serfs with few life prospects. The vast majority of Europeans would rarely leave their city-states, much less their countries. Widespread emigration not forced by conquest or circumstance is a phenomenon much more characteristic of later centuries. One impressive feature of the Vinland Sagas is the presentation of Norwegian and Icelandic elites as bold explorers long before their time, possessing a degree of individuality largely unknown during their time period.

This individualism was particularly striking in Medieval Iceland, which had no formal state to speak of and was instead ruled by a group of loosely affiliated chieftains whose jurisdictions of judgment overlapped. The peace was enforced by a system of outlawry, declared by particular assemblies and voluntarily respected by others. It was through this system, in fact, that Eirik the Red...